(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to digital photography. More specifically, the invention relates to providing an industry standard film camera the capacity to take digital pictures.
(2) Related Art
Film cameras have been around for decades. Among the typical cameras available are 35mm, 110, and 660. In the case of 35mm, a film canister is placed inside the cavity within the camera. The film leader is extended across an aperture which is in optical communication with a lens when a shutter is opened. The leader engages a take-up reel. The take-up reel is a core of a second cavity within the camera. As pictures are taken and the film advanced, the film is retained on the take-up reel. Some cameras initially advance all the film onto the take-up reel and then rewind frame by frame as pictures are taken. In either case, upon completion of the roll of film, the film is rewound off the take-up reel back within the canister. The canister must then be sent for processing before the pictures are available. Other varieties of cameras such as 110 and 660 are similar except they use a self-contained film cartridge with a built-in take-up reel. The whole cartridge is sent in for developing.
More recently, digital cameras have proliferated in the marketplace. A typical digital camera employs an electronic image sensing array, such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or CMOS image sensing array, which communicates with the lens of the camera. When a picture is taken, the shutter opens and exposes an image sensing array to light. The image sensing array thereby captures the image which is then retrieved from the array and stored in a memory. The camera can be coupled to a laptop computer or a desktop computer to download the images stored in memory. In that way, the picture is immediately available for on-screen viewing.
Some attempts have been made to provide film cameras with the ability to take digital pictures. These efforts have generally involved construction of a large relatively heavy replacement back panel for the camera which contains the necessary electronics required to take digital pictures. This does not facilitate the ready transition between film and digital pictures as the camera back must be interchanged depending on the medium in which the pictures are to be taken. Changing the camera back is difficult, time consuming and, in many cases, requires the service of a camera technician.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a device which permits existing film cameras to take one or more digital pictures without excessive cost. It would also be desirable if the camera could be easily switched between taking digital pictures and taking film pictures by the user without requiring any service department assistance.
A method and apparatus for taking digital pictures is disclosed. A film camera having a standard back panel, a shutter, and a primary lens is provided. An image sensing array is disposed within the camera in an area normally occupied by film so as to be in optical communication with the primary lens when the shutter is open. A read-out circuit is packaged to reside in a cavity normally occupied by film when the camera is employed to take standard pictures. The read-out circuit is coupled to the image sensing array and reads out an image captured by the image sensing array. A memory is coupled to a read-out circuit to store images read from the image sensing array. The memory is packaged to also reside in a cavity vacated in the absence of film. In one embodiment, the read-out circuit and the memory occupy the same cavity. In another embodiment, the read-out circuit and the memory occupy different cavities.